


What Does the Fox Say?

by maniclust



Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Giving thanks, Karaoke, M/M, One Shot, POV First Person, lap dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-10
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2019-06-19 21:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15519030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maniclust/pseuds/maniclust





	What Does the Fox Say?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starseed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starseed/gifts).



> This story has the same characters as a certain other fic that is being written but was merely the inspiration for the long form. These events do not occur in that one!

[”Your fur is red, so beautiful, like an angel in disguise.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jofNR_WkoCE)

“You’ve got that look on your face that says you’re aiming to embarrass the fuck out of me tonight,” I said, peering at Zac over my glass of beer and taking a generous gulp of it. 

Once every three months or so, my best friend, Zac, conned me into what he called an epic karaoke battle at a local bar. We selected songs for one another and let the crowd vote on who the “winner” was at the end of the battle. Really, it was just a chance for us to try and outdo one another while at the same time being as embarrassing as possible. 

Tonight, the look on his face said that he was out for blood. I had managed to win the last three battles which meant he was likely going to be upping the stakes. I just didn’t know how. It didn’t help that he had been slightly pissed off at me for the last few weeks without explanation. The combination of his attitude as well as his desire to win at all costs was quite frankly frightening.

_Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got Hudson and Hanson in the house tonight! For those of you that are familiar I’m sure your night just got a whole lot better. For you newbies, you’re in for a real treat!_

He chuckled at the announcement from the DJ and smirked at me. “Can’t back out now, Sonny.”

“Ugh, I really fucking hate it when you call me that, Zachary,” I scowled, reaching across the table to punch him.

“Ow, oh, I’m in pain,” he whined obnoxiously. “That hurts almost as much as when Taylor hits me. Figures the two of you would hit the same when you have _so_ much in common.”

There were two things he knew I hated: being called Sonny and when he brought up Taylor. It was moments like these when I felt every bit the fifteen years older than him I was. At 43 I had already been married, had a few kids, and divorced. I’d spent the majority of my life in the closet, trying to deny my attractions to men. However, when my wife had caught me red handed I could not deny it.

On the surface, Zac and I looked extremely mismatched as friends, but when he wasn’t being an asshole we actually had a great deal in common. We worked together at the same art gallery and played in a band together on the side. We’d become close nearly immediately and the fact that he was only 28 had never been an issue for me. Unless he was acting like a child. 

“You’re a prick,” I hissed, bringing myself back to the present.

The scowl on my face deepened when I could see the satisfaction on his face that he’d gotten to me. So, I kicked me under the table, right in the shin. That time it _definitely_ hurt. Gasping, he laid his head down on the table and whined in real pain, reaching down to rub at what was surely going to become a welt.

“What’s a matter, baby,” I cooed into his hair right against his ear. “Did that hurt your shin or your ego more? Poor, Zaccy. Getting beat up by his homosexual, old man best friend. Do you need me to kiss it better?”

Lifting his head, he growled at me before taking my beer and pulling it close, spitting right into it. The look on his face said that he had won, but I never gave in that easily. Taking the glass back from him I pulled it to my mouth and took a long drink before setting it back down, smacking my lips.

“You are so fucking gross sometimes, Hud,” he gagged.

“Swallowing a bit of your spit is hardly the worst thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”

“True, you’ve had him in your mouth,” he said, his eyes locking on mine as he smirked evilly and nodded across the room. 

Turning to see who he was referring to, I tensed up when I saw Zac’s older brother Taylor walking toward our table. My gaze immediately went back to my best friend and I shot him a death glare. “What the fuck are you doing?” I gaped at him.

“Winning,” he stated, his face expressionless as he stood up, the dj calling him to the stage right as Taylor dropped his lanky form into the chair beside me. 

“Hey, Hud,” Taylor said, that smooth tone of voice that he seemed to reserve for me and I gave him a tight smile.

“Hi.”

I really had no interest in talking to Taylor in the slightest. I preferred to avoid him at all costs when I could. He was a manwhore, a flirt, and he made me extremely uncomfortable - for many reasons, the least of which was the fact that I had in fact sucked his dick recently at a party. It was better for everyone when he and I were no where near one another. 

“What are you making him sing?” he asked, taking Zac’s beer and starting to drink it without a thought. Taylor was the kind of guy that felt like everything belonged to him and that infuriated me about him. 

“Ylvis,” I said simply, watching Zac’s face as he read the paper he was handed that let him know what song he was going to be singing. For a moment, he narrowed his eyes at me, but then he took the microphone and went into performance mode. 

Zac was a natural born entertainer that wasn’t afraid of much at all. When it came to making an ass out of himself to get a laugh, he was always willing to put himself on the line. So, it didn’t surprise me that he had barely flinched at his song choice. Fuck. I was going to lose. I could feel it. 

As the first lines of the song started, everyone in the bar went insane because they knew what was coming. Zac locked eyes with me as he began to sing.

“Dog goes woof. Cat goes meow. Bird goes tweet and mouse goes squeak. Cow goes moo. Frog goes croak. And the elephant goes toot.”

The fucker was nailing it. He was fucking nailing it. Working the crowd and even managing to sing the nonsense sounds a fox might make. He wasn’t even skipping a beat and he was getting into it like he had written the song himself. 

I’d always enjoyed Zac’s voice even though he insisted it wasn’t the best. We had both been told that our voices had an unusual quality to them, but he refused to sing if it wasn’t for a humor factor. It was why I had been tapped as the lead singer of our band and spent most of the time at the front of the stage while he stayed behind the drums. 

Even though I did enjoy his voice and know he had a talent, I didn’t at all expect him to be able to pull _this_ off. When he hit the falsetto notes flawlessly at the end, even Taylor stood up and applauded, whistling loudly for him. As if I needed another reason to hate Taylor Hanson he was right there giving me another one. 

In typical Zac fashion, when the song ended he dropped the mic and walked off stage, his eyes right on me. 

“Beat. That. Tilney,” he said, a smug satisfaction in his voice as he sat back down and scowled at Taylor when he realized his beer was gone. “I’d make you go get me another one, but you need to stay here. Hud is going to sing a song just for you.”

My head snapped up, eyes going wide at Zac’s words and he just gave me that steely glare once more. What in the ever loving fuck? Taylor, on the other hand, looked pleased, pulling his chair around to be closer to the stage. 

_After that, Hudson has his work cut out for him tonight, doesn’t he? Let’s see how he does. Ladies and gentlemen, Hudson Tilney!_

I didn’t move from my chair, eyes back on Zac. “What are you doing?”

“I said… winning. You don’t sing, you forfeit and I get you as my slave for a week. You get up there and sing. You still lose but you at least get some dignity.”

Something told me that I wasn’t going to get out of this with my dignity at all, but if I forfeited, he was going to really make my life hell. Considering I had my kids this week for their spring break from school, having to cater to them and Zac at the same time was not my idea of fun so I reluctantly stepped up on stage to take the piece of paper with my song on it.

Fuck.

Fucking hell. 

_Justin Bieber - Boyfriend_

I glared at Zac, wondering if we were even friends anymore at this point. His gaze looked so cold that I really wasn’t sure. He had invited Taylor and then told him that I was going to sing this song for him? I hadn’t done anything to deserve this. Immediately, I wanted to flee to escape his low blow, but as the music started to play, I knew that I didn’t have a choice. I was going to have to find some way to salvage this. 

The look on Taylor’s face when he immediately recognized what the song was made me want to vomit on him. He looked so thrilled. Zac was watching him be thrilled also and I was glad that at least that steely gaze was on his brother and not me for the moment. 

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Even if I didn’t win, I wasn’t going to let Zac get to me.

“If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go. I could take you places you ain’t never been before. Baby take a chance or you’ll never ever know,” I spoke into the microphone, each word taking me one step closer to where Taylor was sitting. 

I could see that his blue eyes were lit up in anticipation of being sung to, but I veered off at the last minute and leaned down to sing right to Zac. “Tell me what you like, yeah, tell me what you don’t. I could be your Buzz Lightyear, fly across the globe. I don’t ever wanna fight yeah, you already know. Imma make you shine bright like you’re laying in the snow.”

He was sitting in the perfect position for me to straddle him during the hook and roll my hips over his, giving him an impromptu lap dance. I half expected him to hit me and shove me off, but he was frozen as he stared up at me. Knowing that I had at least won in the battle of him not embarrassing me, I moved off him and climbed back on the stage to finish the song, though my eyes were on him the whole time.

Emulating him when the song was over, I dropped the mic and gave a bow to the audience. Their applause let me know that while they had enjoyed my performance, Zac had definitely won. Moments later, the DJ announced as much and I turned to sulk back to the table, but when I got there Zac was nowhere to be found. 

“Where did he go?” I asked Taylor who was looking at me with slightly glazed eyes. I had to wonder if he was high on something.

“Told me to tell you that you win and he left,” Taylor shrugged. “Asked me if I would drive you home.”

When I felt Taylor’s hand touch against my thigh I swatted it away. “I’d rather call a fucking cab. Don’t touch me.”

Knowing that Zac couldn’t have gotten that far, I ditched Taylor and ran outside to see if I could catch him before he was gone. Thankfully, his truck was boxed in and he was working to get it out of the tight parking space. 

I didn’t hesitate to throw myself in front of it, hitting my hands against the hood and causing him to stop so that he didn’t run me over. “The fuck, Zachary?”

“Get out of my way, Hudson,” he glowered. 

“No, not until you talk to me. Get out of the goddamn truck,” I insisted. 

“You know what the fox really says?” he shouted at me. “The fox says FUCK OFF.”

His anger toward me was startling and I moved around to the door and yanked it open, thankful that he hadn’t thought to lock himself in. Reaching across his body, I undid his seatbelt and yanked him from the seat and onto the ground. 

“No, I’m not going to fuck off. This has been going on for weeks and you’re going to tell me what the fuck your problem is right NOW. I didn’t deserve what you tried to do to me in there,” I growled. I was tired of him treating me like shit when he was supposed to be my best friend.

“Like you even care. You have been keeping things from me so why should I tell you what is going on in my head?” he said bitterly, giving me that death glare again. 

“What do you mean I’ve been keeping things from you?”

“I know, Hudson.”

“You know _what_?” I asked, exasperated.

“The real reason you got a divorce,” he said softly.

I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick. Right there on his face. The look he was giving me let me know that it wasn’t a bluff. He knew. That’s why he was angry. That’s why he was being such an asshole. Oh fuck. Releasing him, I rolled off to the side and sat against the tire of the truck, staring down at my feet.

“I didn’t want you to find out,” I said softly, defeated.

He snorted as he stood up. “Yeah, you made that perfectly clear. I hate that I even spent so many nights sleeping beside you and comforting you as you cried. You deserved it, you know. I understand you wanting to come out of the closet, but seriously, fuck you. I don’t feel sorry for you one bit.”

“This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew that you’d never fucking understand. You’re being a child. Yes, I lied to you. I admit that, but you’re supposed to be my friend. Not try to hurt me,” I said, my pain evident in my voice. 

“I was trying to get you to come out and just admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“That you want Taylor!” he yelled, flailing his arms in a way that made me think he was going to hit me for a split second.

“Oh jesus christ, I do not want Taylor! If I wanted Taylor I would have been singing to him. I would have loved the opportunity to tell him that I wanted to be his boyfriend. I wouldn’t have swatted his hand away from my thigh to come after YOU,” I countered, shoving him back, though he was so solid that it didn’t do much at all. “But no, instead I chose to sing to you. My asshole of a best friend. Why? Because I don’t. Want. Taylor.”

“I don’t believe you,” he huffed. “Not after what I know now. And he’s the only guy you’ve been with since your divorce. He’s the reason you’re even divorced in the first place. So, unless you’re keeping something else from me.”

“I’m not keeping anything from you, Zac. Just because I got drunk and made a mistake doesn’t mean that I want your brother. When I’m sober I can’t fucking stand him and well, like I said, it was a mistake. I regret it with everything in me. If I could take it back, I would. And I’m not just saying that because you caught us,” I said honestly.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever, Hudson. Find another way home. I’m tired of looking at you.”

The fear of possibly losing Zac was starting to bubble up in me and I knew that I should have been honest with him from the get go. That I should be honest with him now in order to avoid things getting any worse. When he turned away from me, I grabbed his arm and spun him around.

“Do you want the truth, Zac?” I said, holding onto him tighter than I intended to and he yanked his arm out of my grip. 

“About you wanting Taylor? I thought we already established that you do. So if you’re going to admit it, go admit it to him. I’m sure he’d love to hear it and get his dick in your mouth again,” he snarled. 

Suddenly, I just blurted it out. Putting it out there. Letting the words fall between us so thickly that I was sure I could see a mist that had formed due to my speaking them. If I was going to lose him, I was going to go out with no secrets between us.

“I knew that having him was the closest I’d ever get to having you. It was a mistake, but I couldn’t help it. You are such a tease sometimes, Zac. I don’t think you even understand that you’re doing it. But it drives me crazy. YOU drive me crazy.”

He’d already started to climb up into his truck and when he heard my words he dropped back down to the ground. “You fucked my brother because you want me.”

“Yes,” I whispered, confirming his suspicions.

“That is fucked up, Hud. Really, really fucked up. Did you honestly think that telling me that was going to make it all better? That I’d feel sorry for you and just accept your lies? Is that why you gave me a goddamn lap dance in there? Thinking you could seduce me?” he asked, taking a step closer to me. 

“No, I… I just didn’t want anymore secrets between us. I needed you to kn-”

My words were cut off when his fist suddenly flew into my face and I fell backward against the truck with a gasp. I tasted blood immediately on my tongue and gasped. The emotional pain of him actually hitting me trumping the physical pain from the hit. 

Before I had time to recover, his hands were on me again, but this time not to cause me pain. No, instead they were holding me still as his warm, wet lips pressed against mine. I was frozen… shocked. I didn’t know what to do or how to react. When I felt his tongue slide against the cut on my lip I let out a moan and that sound seemed to bring him back to the present. Shoving me away, he pushed me down into the gravel of the parking lot.

“Don’t call me.”

He got back into his truck and managed to get out of the parking spot before I could stand up, the tires spinning into the gravel and kicking it back up on me. Tears started to stream down my face as I curled up into a little ball, not knowing what to do with myself or what had just happened. 

I barely registered the sound of someone approaching me before I once again heard his smooth voice. “Are you sure I can’t take you home?”

Taylor.

“How long were you there?” I asked.

“Long enough.”

“Taylor, I…”

“I’m not going to hit you, Hudson. I honesty don’t care. Do you need a ride home or not?” he asked, devoid of emotion himself. Sometimes it was scary how alike he and Zac could be.

Against my better judgement I licked my lips, tasting the blood there and nodding. “Yes. Take me home.”


End file.
